Becci Fearnley, aged 16 from Farnborough

Genesis

It might have been the world’s most perfect night. No moon. Stars like searchlights. A thin layer of ice covered every branch and leaf and blade of grass. It was perfectly, eerily, still. Nothing rustled the hedges and I could imagine the rabbits and badgers, rolled up tight in their underground dens. It took the haunting scream of an owl to tear me out of my dream, remind me that I was not here to enjoy nature. There was work to be done.

The mourning cry of the owl faded out of existence and I was left with only a frosty breeze rippling past my scales to remind me of where I was. It was deathly silent, as if the world were balanced on the edge of an abyss. I clenched my teeth together and searched the stars to check my position. The curling tail of the scorpion constellation glimmered down at me from above; I was in the right place.

With deliberate slowness I stretched out my neck, uttering a guttural crooning sound from the very base of my throat. The sound reverberated through the ground beneath my feet and made the leaves on the bushes and trees shiver. As I pulled back my head, the silence intensified. I began to wonder if they had heard me, if I ought to try again. I had been told it would not take much to wake them, but the stillness of the forest was so complete I was doubtful that there was much life in it at all.

I threw back my head and repeated the sound, this time in a deep, sinister keen that shook the exposed roots of the trees and sent the owl hissing into the skies. I could not suppress a wolfish grin at the sight of it; its tiny frail body struggling to stay aloft in the frigid air, it seemed so helpless!

The forest groaned. I started in shock and braced myself as the entire foundations of the forest shuddered violently. A sudden movement caught my eyes in the distance and, as I focused, I realised that the mountains beyond the forest seemed to be…breathing. They swelled and contracted eerily; the air was filled with a deep, booming howl. I recoiled away from the sound with a snarl, my teeth bared and my whiplash tail coiled around me for protection. There was a sickening crack from the mountain and great splinters of rock fell away, crashing into the foliage with devastating force. I winced at the destructive nature of the spectacle and searched myself desperately for some kind of explanation. I could find only one; they had heard me.

The peak of the mountain exploded into several million razor sharp fragments that haloed the plume of dust rising from the jagged teeth of rock. I backed away from the resounding rumble of the mountain breaking up. From the broken mountain’s peak, there rose a great, horned head, roughly triangular in shape, with smoke pouring from its mouth and nostrils. A deep, booming growl emanated from it, sending shivers down my spine. The creature blinked its gleaming yellow eyes and inspected its jagged mountain cave with something like mild distaste. It began to slither between the folds of rock, dislodging boulder-sized chunks like crumbs from bread. I flattened myself against the ground as it approached, its black scales flashing in the weak moonlight. It took several gigantic steps and halted right in front of me, drawing itself up to its full height of several metres. I stared up at it, whimpering in fear, and began to wonder why I had agreed to this. From my right there came a second creature, this one sapphire blue. A third emerged from my left, the colour of blood.

I flicked my gaze between each of them in fear and began to back away. The red creature’s great, arrowhead tail slammed into the ground behind me, creating a barrier against my escape. I huddled in my little cage, quaking in terror. The Black opened its enormously strong jaws to reveal several rows of huge, serrated teeth. In a deep, resonating voice it thundered.

“Who dares disturb me? Who dares wake me? Speak!”

My forked, black tongue snaked from between my teeth in humble apology. Trembling, I bowed my head and said in a very small voice; “I did.”

The black creature stared down at me with something that looked almost like amusement. “You?” he asked in surprise, “You…a tiny dragon hatchling had the courage and the audacity to wake the three creators?” he threw back his head and laughed thunderously. Overhead, lightning lanced soundlessly across the clear sky, it flickered and disappeared as the last peels of the dragon’s ringing laughter died away. “I am surprised,” the red dragon hissed “That one so young could possess such power. Who are you?”

I swallowed hard, flexing my clawed forepaws nervously. “My name is Migisi,” I said slowly, “I was sent by Gaea to wake you.”

The three dragons froze, exchanging grave glances. “The Earth Spirit?” the Blue rasped, there was something in its eyes that bore a resemblance to fear, but it was difficult to tell. I nodded vigorously. “The Earth spirit contacted you?” the red dragon said with obvious surprise, “You must have great power to have been spoken to by such an entity. That is worthy of respect.”

To my surprise, the three dragons dipped their heads and sank to their bellies in what were quite obviously bows. I took a step back in surprise and blinked, flattered.

The dragons rose out of their bows. The Black took a step forward and said “My name is Cain. The Blue goes by the name of Catori, the Red is Issoris. We are honoured to meet you.”

“Thank you…” I stuttered hesitantly, my scales rattling with pride. “But I was only sent to deliver a message.”

“Then deliver it!” Cain encouraged with a wolfish smile. I paddled my paws nervously.

“Gaea says…” I gasped breathlessly, “Gaea says it is time. She says she has tried everything but it is no use. She says they have poisoned her, she said she needed your help.”

Cain’s face became grave. He exchanged significant glances with Catori and Issoris, their tongues flicked between their sharp teeth in concentration before Cain finally said, “It is time indeed.” Catori and Issoris shifted uncomfortably. “The creatures that Gaea has been poisoned by have been contaminating her for several thousand years. We must help her. It is up to us now.” He stared back at me with a fond smile and a flicker of electricity passed between our snouts. “Our thanks, Migisi,” he murmured, “We have work to do. We must send our fire out to the world to save Gaea. You have done well, but you must go now. What we are about to do is very dangerous and very wonderful. You must leave, do you understand?”

I stared between each of them, unable to process what they were telling me. With slow deliberation I nodded once and turned to leave. Issoris lifted her tail and I trotted away as they turned their backs on me to begin their work. Moments before they took action, I glanced back and something coursed through me that made my whole body tighten; why should I slip quietly away without knowing what I had initiated? Why should I be the one who remained ignorant? I had no desire to leave without knowing what they would do. In a moment of recklessness I spun round and darted up a tree to watch from a safe distance.

The three dragons shifted and hissed to one another for a moment. With a suddenness that made me start, they turned and, as one body, exploded skyward, their wingless bodies rotating and writhing to gain altitude. My mouth fell open as I watched them twisting effortlessly through the blackness. The air fluctuated around them as they rose. Then, in unison they flung open their mouths and spurted great columns of fire into the night sky. The fire roared and rotated as they propelled the three jets of flame towards each other. As they met, a great light burst in front of my eyes so that I reeled and whimpered in surprise. Images began to flash in front of me; forests burning whilst animals darted from within the flaming undergrowth; pale, furless creatures chased after them on two legs. Fields filled with blood and hatred as the two-legged monsters tore at each other. Nuclear waste being poured deep into the earth’s flesh. Curling clouds of gas roiling from great cylinders of stone built up from the ground. Factories and power plants, weapons and war, death and destruction imprinted with the faces of the two-leggeds.

The images span and danced like fragments of memories, all the while the content became less clear, as if it no longer bore any significance.

Then, with the same speed that they had appeared, the images dissipated and the three dragons sank gently back to the ground. I slithered down my tree and cowered at its base, shocked. A terrible stillness engulfed me and in that instance I knew that all that pain and suffering was gone, Gaea was freed of her assailants. The same deathly silence filled the forest as before, but now it seemed to settle deep into the fabric of the earth. I bowed my head; a single tear rolled down my cheek.

Becci Fearnley

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